5
comments:

UGH! Why fix something that isn't broken? Gammell's pictures used to scare the bejezus out of me! They're still creepy to me, but in a really good way :) The stories in these books are good, but Gammell's pictures are what really made this series.Guess I had better stop putting off purchasing my own copies of the originals.

I agree with Countess VonRauber. Gammell's illustrations are the ultimate nightmare machine. Growing up reading those books was a blast, but honestly, what kept me coming back (and I think what kept all haunters coming back) were the amazing illustrations. After looking at the new drawings, I do really love the look of it, it's charming and still has the spook factor, but is, of course, not totally comparable to Gammell's work. Honestly, by the way the newer illustrations look, I almost wonder if they changed it so it could be less scary, because as we all know, Gammell's work haunted us, where as this newer art is mostly there to support the stories. Perhaps some parents complained? I don't know, but it seems that it was purposely done to make the book look much less terrifying.

just picked up a second copy of these, one to keep packed up (my original copies from a child) and one to keep for reference (single-binding copy). You can only purchase the re-illustrated copies now... so stock up while you can!